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The War of 1812 between the United States and Britain is typically framed as a second war for independence. Less commonly known is the story of American slaves who were able to use the war as an opportunity to negotiate their freedom. Slaves in Maryland immediately recognized the British invasion as a chance to escape slavery. Initially, the British offered land in Canada or the West Indies to escaped slaves who were willing to offer intelligence or help as guides. Listen to learn more about how enslaved African Americans were able to negotiate their freedom during the War of 1812, and how this impacted the institution of slavery in the United States.
Story Length: 3:30
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August 19, 2015
5:14
Historically slaves in the United States are depicted as uneducated farm hands on plantations in the South. But that wasn’t true for all slaves. One famous slave named Yarrow Mamout was an educated Muslim who earned his freedom and even had his portrait painted by a famous American painter. He was a entrepreneur, money-lender and stock-owner, as well as having a reputation for being honest and moral. Archaeologists are trying to find out more about Yarrow Mamout by excavating a plot of land in Georgetown where he owned a home from 1796 until his death in 1823. Listen to this story to learn why this former slave is so well-known and respected.
Read MoreApril 30, 2015
8:57
New York City is planning to acknowledge its rarely discussed history in the slave trade with an official marker at the location that served as the city’s slave market from 1711 to 1762. From its founding as New Amsterdam, the city was shaped by slavery. Slaves physically built the infrastructure of lower Manhattan. In the city’s early days bankers and merchants grew rich from their connection to the trade of Southern sugar and cotton, which was based on slave labor. New York’s wealth was so connected to slavery the mayor of New York proposed the city side with the South and secede from the Union during the Civil War. Listen to learn more about the fascinating history of slavery in this modern day progressive city.
Read MoreDecember 20, 2014
3:54
Harriet Tubman escaped slavery in Maryland and then used her freedom and the Underground Railroad to free more than 70 slaves. Known as the “Moses of Her People,” Tubman lived a purposeful life fighting slavery. She also joined the fight for women’s suffrage after the Civil War. Congress has approved the creation of two national historic parks, one in Maryland and the other in New York, to commemorate and honor the life of this pioneering woman.
Read MoreDecember 4, 2013
4:26
Slavery is a horror of history. The capture and transportation of human beings from Africa to North America through the Middle Passage is an experience that is hard to imagine. First-person slave narratives were the first honest account of the experience and were used by the abolitionist movements in Britain and the United States to show the reality of slavery. Listen to learn more about the first-person account of freed slave Olaudah Equiano, shared in his autobiography in 1789.
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